Beach volleyball: Olympic Games’ ultimate party a joyless affair amid 12,000 empty seats

It was all very nightclub-just-after-the-doors-open for the Olympic Games’ beach volleyball tournament

Megumi Murakami, of Japan, dives for the ball during a women's beach volleyball match against Germany. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

It’s being called The Quiet Games but don’t think this Olympics will pass without a soundtrack.

This is high season for cicadas. Think small insects that look a bit like a termite. They are as intrinsic to a Japanese summer, and to this global sporting event, as the vuvuzela was to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.